


The times we need saving

by orphan_account



Category: The Hobbit (2012), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Relationship, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - War, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Angst, But they deserved the murder, F/M, Gen, Genderbend, Hurt/Comfort, Lots of Angst, M/M, Murder, Rape, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, horrible attempts at humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-19
Updated: 2013-04-08
Packaged: 2017-12-05 20:03:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/727374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of drabbles, fics and short stories in which some are victims, some are villians, and some are heroes.</p><p>Tags will be changed as chapters are added.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [charliechick117](https://archiveofourown.org/users/charliechick117/gifts).



> Since I can't dedicate just a single chapter, I will gift this whole fic (however long it may be, and though it's updates will hardly be regular) to charliechick117. Like it or not, this story is your fault, you and your awesome, heartbreaking stories. (Maybe also a bit because I had a bad day...)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bofur/Nori  
> Modern AU in which Nori sets out to get killed, and is instead saved by Bofur.

Nori tried not to breathe, he knew it would hurt too much. He tried not to move his head, it would force more rubble into the gash across his nose. It hadn't worked the way he had hoped; the car had not killed him, at most shattered half his bones, and by God did it hurt. Perhaps he should have picked a suitable truck instead, a bus, maybe a train. 

A voice above him, irish accent, quite possibly the man who had hit him with the car. "Oh god, no, no! Can you hear me? Sir, please, no, no, nonono..." 

Nori felt a slight sting of guilt when he heard this, an unknown man praying he would live. He had thought his death would only be unfair to his brothers, they were the only reason he'd lived this long. Not until the poor man whose car he'd jumped out in front of started hyperventilating did he realize that someone else would suffer for his decision. 

"Don't be dead, please, don't!" The man gently put a shaking hand on Nori's wrist, feeling for a pulse - it earned him a shout of pain from Nori, as the dying man on the ground realized his wrist was broken. 

The irish accent continued the curses, the pleading, the shouting, and Nori clung to the sound of it as he blacked out.

\--

Nori immediately knew he was drugged as he woke up - how much, he wasn't sure, because his head seemed clear enough. The sound of very heavy breathing turned out to be the life support he was connected to. Hours, minutes, or maybe just seconds, had passed - either one nurse or five similar nurses had run into the room to check on him - when a man entered the room. He was tall, his dark hair pulled into a ponytail, a whole bouquet in his arms but he was unknown to Nori; at first, Nori thought the man was in the wrong room. It was an easy mistake to make, since it all looked alike. 

But the man took a seat by Nori's hospital bed, and his voice told Nori who he was at the first word he said. "Hi, I'm...I'm Bofur. I, uh, hit ye with my car. Well, m' brothers car..."

He looked awfully sad - of course, he could've killed someone - and even though he was just some stranger, Nori thought it felt wrong; he was clearly the kind of person who was meant to smile and laugh, the dimples by his mouth and the small wrinkles by his eyes said so. And Nori had ruined that.

"I'm sorry," said a voice, and for a second Nori wondered in someone else was in the room with them, because it wasn't Bofur who had said it.

Nori only understood the words had come from himself - his voice sounded nothing like he remembered - when Bofur gave him a sad smile. "Yer sorry I'm a terrible driver?"

Even though he tried to respond, no words came out this time.

"I'm an idiot, I should've concentrated on the road. Two cars wrecked in two months. I...two people could've died because of-" Bofur's voice cut off, and Nori looked on as the man beside his bed covered his face with his hands and wept.

There really wasn't much Nori could do for the poor man, not now, but at least this time (perhaps the first as well, Nori wondered) it wasn't Bofur's fault at all. He wasn't even driving very fast, which Nori hadn't realized at the time - he was simply waiting for a car to pass so he could step out onto the road, the lack of streetlights making him invisible until it was too late to stop. 

"I did it on purpose." There it was again, that hoarse, horrible voice that apparently belonged to Nori. "I tried to kill myself."

He said it, that one thing he dreaded telling Ori and Dori - he felt sick when he tried to think of a way to explain it to them - and now he told the stranger who hit him with a car. Who could've killed him, who could've let him die. How likely is it really that a stranger will save someone he hardly knows, when it the middle of nowhere? No witnesses; Nori would have been dead by now if Bofur had left him on the road. But as Bofur looked up at Nori, looking even sadder now than before, the crying man wipes his tears on the sleeve of his jacket.

"I want to die," Nori whispered. "I'm so sorry for doing this to you."

Bofur shook his head, and it pained Nori to see him so sad, even though he hardly knew him. "I don't understand why ye would want to do that. What could have happened to ye if... Is there really no reason for you to live? Siblings, cousins, friends, children?"

Nori said nothing for a long time, thinking about what to answer. He felt sick again, he didn't want to think about his brothers.

"I put my cousin in a coma last month." It was only barely a whisper at first, but Nori heard it. "It was an accident, they tell me, I couldn't have known that some drunk would...would crash into my car. My cousin is in a coma. We don't know if he'll ever wake up. But I'm alive, practically unharmed because I fit perfectly in that small void that stayed when the car was folded around the tree."

"...like, survivor's guilt. But he's not really dead," Nori thought out loud. 

Bofur only nodded, head hanging low and his eyes fixated on his shoes until Nori tried to lift his arm. As it was broken in at least two places, he could not, and instead wailed in pain. Bofur looked on as Nori struggled to sit up in the bed, nodding at the flowers Bofur help - he had first intended to gesture toward them to direct the attention to the spots of yellow and white on the floor by his visitor.

"What's that you got there, flowers? For your cousin?" He tried to smile - a fake smile, one he had used too much in the past years - but it probably didn't look anything like a smile. 

"No, I brought them for ye. I feel really bad for what happened." Bofur picked the flowers up, laying them across his lap. "They're plastic though, didn't know if ye were allergic, didn't want to risk it." 

"Hitting me with a car and bringing me plastic flowers: you seem like quite the charmer." 

\-- 

It took hours for Dori to come to the hospital, Ori dragging him into the room where they had been informed Nori was. Now, it was in no way Dori's fault that it took him so long - Nori had purposefully left his wallet and phone at home, no wanting to be identified, but rather hoping to die nameless - but once he got the call, he picked up Ori from his new job and drove there as fast as he could without being pulled over for speeding. Just as the two brothers arrived, Bofur left, nodding politely at both of them before exiting the room. 

"Who was that?" Ori asked; Dori would have been the one to ask it, but he was shocked but how badly hurt their brother was.

For the first time in years, Nori's smile was genuine. "My future husband."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dwalin/Thorin  
> Modern War AU in which Thorin is captured and Dwalin is loyal.

Thorin hung his head, trying to will himself to pass out as the man started talking again. "Speak, or I will put a bullet in your head." 

He didn't have to look up to know the gun was aimed at him, likely only centimeters from his head. "If you kill me, I cannot speak. Your threat benefits only me."

A long line of foreign curses - Thorin could only guess, but it sounded like curses judging by how he spat - came from the man as he turned to his friend, leaned against the wall. He didn't seem surprised, simply annoyed. Of course, Thorin thought he had been clever, oh so clever, and outsmarted the man. Then he felt the hard press of the gun against his knee instead, followed by a pain so strong he thought he would actually pass out this time. He didn't, and he screamed so loud his voice suddenly disappeared as the man proceeded to poke and prod the wound.

"Are you ready to speak yet, Officer Oakenshield?" wondered the other man in the room.

He tried his very best to say that, no, he would never reveal anything to them, but Thorin only gasped for air, wide-eyed and panting. The next bullet was a clean shot through his shoulder, but it didn't hurt as much as the first; this, he was grateful for. 

"The sooner you speak, the sooner you can die."

Thorin could not have said a word even if he wanted to. He was vaugely aware that the gun was raised one more time.

The third bullet passed through a set of ribs. These ribs did not belong to Thorin, and the gun used to fire that shot had not belonged to those who held him captive. Instead, there was a muscular man with a bald head and a beard glaring through the massive hole in the man's ribcage. He didn't even dedicate the other man a glance as another shot took said man's head off. 

"Dwalin!" Not ' _you came_ ', not ' _what the hell are you doing here_ ', just his name.

"What, yeh didn't think I'd save yeh? These bastards had it comin'." 

Thorin would not deny it: he had never been happier to see anyone before. Before he knew it, Dwalin had him hoisted up on his shoulder - as to give them both a chance to defend themselves, Thorin watching Dwalin's back and Dwalin doing the same for the man slung across his shoulder. As difficult as it was to aim, or look dignified, in a position like the one Thorin was in, he saved Dwalin from being shot half a dozen times by taking down anyone who aimed at him. 

\-- 

Thorin knew right away when he woke up. Something was wrong. He saw Dwalin's face, the way his eyebrows angled in a way they never had before - even though Thorin had never seen it, he understood. Despite having trouble breathing - the air suddenly felt so humid - Thorin attempted sitting up. He tried his voice, and found that he was not a mute; he was not blind, he didn't seem deaf because he could hear someone talking in the hallway. He could feel both arms, but when he tried to move his feet, only one foot obeyed him. 

"They had to amputate it. I'm sorry."

Moving the thin blanket that had covered him from the waist down, Thorin gazed upon the empty spot where his knee should be. Nothing beyond it was there. He didn't think, he simply moved; Thorin's hand shot down to touch the small stump still left. Suddenly, everything felt so strange, he thought.

"I'm here for yeh, every bit of the way," Dwalin mumbled by his side.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bofur/Bilbo  
> Modern Zombie AU in which Bilbo is hunted, and Bofur ends the chase

Quick steps through the grass, the fallen leaves crunching under his shoes.

"Shit."

The gun has a single bullet left; best to save it for the unimaginable, if it comes to that.

"Bloody-" A wheezing cough. "-hell!"

And that's when the chase comes to a stop, for more reasons than one. The first - which led to second - was the fact that Bilbo suddenly felt an asthma attack coming on, and began stumbling as he slowed down against his will. The second reason - which was then interrupted by the third - was the fact that the half rotten waiter leading the chase of Bilbo had finally reached him, hand (one, as the other appeared to have fallen off) stretching out to grab Bilbo by his cardigan. And the third and final reason was that the man perched up in a tree with a sniper rifle had managed to kill the half rotten, one-handed waiter.

"Oi, ye alright down there? Can ye climb, run, anything?" The man slung the rifle over his shoulder and started climbing down as he spoke.

"I'm-" Bilbo tried but he went silent as the man aimed the rifle at him. "Please-" Another wheezing cough.

"No, stand still, lad," the man said, and pulled the trigger, killing what had likely been a hooker, or a woman who simply died in a very embarrassing outfit, who had been creeping up on Bilbo. "We gotta go, come here, I'll keep 'em away from ye."

"Asthma!" Bilbo panted as he patted his pockets in an attempt to find the inhaler, finally finding it in his jacket pocket. "God-" He brought the inhaler up to his mouth. 

\--

The strange man who had found Bilbo was digustingly cheery, considering what had happened. As he was dressed in a moss green vest - a long sleeved black shirt underneath - and a cap in the same colour along with a pair of heavy boots, Bilbo assumed right away the man was a hunter. When the two arrived at the RV that turned out to belong to this man, Bilbo found that he had indeed been right. He had not been alone, the man, but he had his family with him. The brother invited Bilbo into the RV, and the man smiled as he - one hand between Bilb's shoulder blades - pushed poor Bilbo inside. Terrified at first (what would they do to him?) Bilbo sat down by the small table, his hand never leaving his handgun; he could not take out all three, but perhaps himself if he had to.

"So we were out hunting, right? And this guy - we think he's drunk - sort of wobbles toward us. What is he even doing in the forest? We backed off a bit, and he goes for the deer we just shot, starts muching on it raw," the man's brother, Bombur, explained excitedly when Bilbo had been introduced. "We leave the scene, and go into town for some more food - we didn't wanna eat the deer after that - and at first we think the whole town is full of drunks."

The man who had saved Bilbo - Bofur - patted his brother on the shoulder. "Aye, we accidentally hit one with the RV-"

Bofur's cousin Bifur grunted at this from the passenger seat. " _You_ hit one with the RV, you can't drive worth shit." The cousin and the brother both laughed at this.

"Yes, yes. Well she got back up again. Her arm was broken, I could see a bone sticking out, but she didn't seem to be in any pain." Bofur shrugged. "Something seemed off, so we stayed in the RV, then we turn on the radio and hear there's some virus or something."

The three hunters fell into silence, and Bilbo tried so hard not to stare, but he couldn't help but notice Bifur was missing a foot - half a leg, nearly. "Before or after?"

"'Scuse me?" Bifur raised an eyebrow.

"I-I was just wondering, did you lose the leg before or after the virus hit?" Bilbo sagged a bit.

"Oh, after. That was only a few weeks ago. He got bit, right on his leg, and..." Bofur hesitated, gaze on the floor in shame. "Well, it's not my proudest moment, but I cut off my cousin's leg. Part of it." 

Bilbo pondered upon this for a moment. "How did he survive the, err, procedure?"

Bofur grinned widely. "Oh, we have a camp not too far away. We were just, ye know, securing the perimiter - we've got traps set up here, it's close enough to the camp that we want to know if the walkers come around." 

"Can-can I come back with you?" Bilbo hoped - oh, how he hoped - that they would let him come.

Having been alone for the past two weeks, after his roommate died (like everyone else, he'd been bit, torn to pieces by the living dead), Bilbo yearned for human contact. And for food, of course. He had not eaten a real meal for days.

"Of course, lad! Wouldn't leave ye out here - that's how we lose our humanity." Bofur chuckled a bit. "Personally, I like my humanity, and I want to keep it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh. My ships are very discreet, and kind if invisible. Shush.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fem!Bilbo/Bofur  
> Modern AU where Smaug makes a brief appearance as an abusive boyfriend, and Bofur's kindness makes it worse and then better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh writer's block. So, here, have some abusive, oddly written stuff.

Ever since Bilbo moved into an apartment nearby, she had gone to Bofur's coffee shop every friday, saturday and sunday morning. She always did so with a broad smile, always greeting Bofur in a cheery tone. Even when the wheather was nice, she wore a turtleneck, or a hoodie, and Bofur could not deny it made him disappointed; what he would not give to get a better look at her. Of course, he was well aware she was off limits, because she'd said so herself when he asked if she wanted to go to the movies.

She had hesitated, and Bofur had added "just as friends, unless ye want it to be a date" with a sheepish look on his face.

"Oh. Good, I'm sure my boyfriend would get a bit jealous otherwise," she had said with a kind smile.

There it was, that word that hurt Bofur so deeply. _Boyfriend_. That was what Smaug was to her. It meant she belonged to someone else, and Bofur shouldn't try. Yet he kept smiling; her friendship would have to be good enough for him, even if he spent hours wishing they were more.

The saturday after their not-a-date, she didn't turn up at all. The day after that, she turned up with a broken arm.

"I fell down the stairs, clumsy me," Bilbo laughed, her smile as wide as ever.

But that was when Bofur's smile weakened, because that was when the collar on her turtleneck failed to serve its purpose, and instead showed Bofur the edge of a dark purple bruise on her neck. When he asked about it, she said it also came from when she fell - she was so soft and easily bruised, after all.

And then one night, Bofur got a call. "Please, Bofur, please come get me," Bilbo sobbed into her phone. "Please, I'm so scared, I-I'm scared he'll come back!"

Not even a minute after the call, he was out the door, in the car, and driving along a lonely road surrounded only by trees. Bofur found her sobbing on the ground, halfway into a ditch, her dress slightly torn and muddy, and the cast on her arm badly treated and broken. 

"Good god, what happened?" he whispered into her hair, wrapping his arms around her.

And suddenly Bilbo didn't smile and pretend like nothing; this time, she told him everything. Bofur nearly felt sick as she described how Smaug pulled her out of the car, only to force her broken arm up so he could slam the door shut on her arm. Bofur couldn't have been more gentle as he helped her into his own car, and then later to the emergency room, and then a few hours after that, into his apartment. She didn't dare go back, not with the psychopath of a boyfriend waiting at home, so Bofur lent her some clothes - much to big for her, of course - and tucked her into the bed in his guest room before going to bed in his own room. 

"Ye never have to go back to him, never alone, never at all. I promise."

It wasn't long before he felt a small, warm body sneak in under his covers and cling to him as they both fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is mainly based on a..."play" I watched a while back, about abusive relationships. Originally, this was just a horrible HORRIBLE self-insert (I don't even know, I feel a bit repulsed too, I know), but then I replaced it with fem!Bilbo.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bofur/Nori  
> Modern AU, same as first chapter, continuation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked that first AU, and I will never have enough Bofur/Nori, and this chapter is barely related to the whole idea of this series.

Even a month after the so called accident - during which Nori stayed with his brothers, as he couldn't properly get around on his own at first due to a crack in his leg which had almost healed by now - Nori had only told a single person the truth about what had happened. Nori secretely felt proud to know it was probably the person who needed the truth more than anyone, more than his brothers. 

"I'm going out," Nori shouted as he put one hand on the door to leave the house. 

Ori poked his head out in the hallway, a cheery smile on his face, only as if to show Nori had been heard. "Alright, have fun."

"I think you mean _limping_ out," Dori - still in the kitchen, not bothering to show himself as he spoke - shouted at him, and Nori could even hear his older brother giggle a bit at his own joke. "Look out for cars this time." Dori would probably never let that go.

And Nori did indeed look out for cars, but simply because he was looking for a specific one; the small, red one with a barely noticable dent in the front, put there by Nori himself, and the irish gentleman in the driver's seat. That was the car Nori got into with a hesitant smile, and Bofur gave him a reassuring one in return before driving away, the house of Dori and Ori - and temporarily Nori - disappearing behind them. 

"You still have that bump on the car, aren't you gonna get that fixed?" Nori asked eventually, one eyebrow raised - he could see the dent from where he sat.

"It's not that big, really. Not to mention it makes the car less fancy, I figure thieves will think it's not worth stealing." Bofur grinned to himself. "Not to mention I reckon I could buy you dinner at least a couple dozen times for that money."

Nori would later regret not saying anything in response to that, but he remained silent, stealing glances at Bofur whenever he could.

\--

Nobody would ever catch Nori admitting to it, but he was probably as nervous as he could possibly be by the time Bofur had convinced him to come in for a cup of tea and movie. Bofur simply wanted to make up for the whole deal with the accident, and Nori...well, Nori had suddenly become very well aware of the fresh wounds he had put on his thigh earlier that day; he could only pray Bofur was not meaning to take Nori's pants off. Any other day, Nori would have been glad to undress for this handsome irish man, but even though Bofur was the only one who knew, Nori didn't want him to see.

"Here, have some tea," Bofur said as he sat back down on the couch by Nori - while Bofur probably didn't notice that he sat closer this time, Nori did - and smiled softly as he studied the face of the other one. 

Nori only took a deep breath and pretended like nothing. "Thank you," he mumbled when he took the cup from Bofur's hand, brushing his fingers over Bofur's as he did.

Always on his guard, Nori noticed when Bofur leaned just a tiny bit closer, with that sad smile that made Nori break a little. He considered leaving - he couldn't let Bofur get too close, then he would see, and he would look at Nori differently - but instead, he just took a small sip from the cup before putting it on the coffee table and leaned closer to Bofur in return, hesitating as he searched for something in Bofur's eyes, two words, a short sentence...

"Kiss me," Bofur whispered. 

What could Nori possibly do other than obey, taking a shaky breath before softly pressing his lips to Bofur's. In that moment, it was as if the whole world went silent, and the sounds only came back when Bofur slowly pulled away. Nori closed his eyes as Bofur reached up, placing his hand on Nori's neck as he moved in for another gentle kiss. Within minutes, Bofur was propped up on his elbows over Nori, the latter resting comfortably on his back as the former planted kisses along his jawline, down his neck and on his collarbones.

"We- um, if you'd like to, we could go to my bedroom...it's a bit more comfortable than this old couch," Bofur whispered under his breath. "Don't have to..." He trailed off, making a face as if he wanted to start over with the whole sentence. "If you don't want to..."

" _You_ clearly want to." Nori reached down between them, his hand trailing along the inside of Bofur's thigh, all the way up to the bump he'd felt against his thigh. 

A sudden lock of guilt spread on Bofur's face. "I'm sorry-"

"Don't be. I'll be happy to help you out with that. Lead the way."

\--

The sound of Nori's own heartbeat was all he had heard for the past half hour. There had been hands everywhere - almost everywhere, Nori had ever so discretely pushed Bofur's hands away when they ventured to close to the scars and the wounds, both on his legs and his arms - but only Nori's mouth had touched skin below the chest. Even in the dark, Bofur couldn't come too close, he wasn't meant to see.

"Do you want to stay or...would you like me to give you a ride home?" Bofur sat up when Nori did, although Nori did so to get off the bed and put his underwear back on.

Nori hesitated. "I, um, don't like to sleep naked. Or in...underwear." 

Bofur stood up by Nori, one hand searching for the other's face. "If you want to, you could...borrow my pyjama bottoms. Do you want a shirt too?" 

Dressed in a pair of plaid pyjama bottoms - too long even for Bofur, although that was on purpose - and a long sleeved shirt, Nori eventually crawled into bed. "Thank you." 

"Mm, you're very welcome," Bofur mumbled back, drifting off as Nori gave him a final kiss.

Hours later, Nori woke up again, back to back with Bofur. While he did not know for sure why, he felt so incredibly sad and lonely, and he cursed himself and his ridiculous emotions as his eyes began to sting. He bit down on his own hand to muffle his sobs, considering to run out the door and try to find a suitable truck to kill him. A tender kiss on the back of his neck made him freeze.

"Do you want to talk? I'm here for you," Bofur whispered into his hair as he wrapped one arm around Nori. 

Bofur had not simply kissed him and pulled him closer, those words were not empty; Bofur had reached into Nori's heart to begin stitching up the wounds that were there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha oh sappy metaphor...
> 
> Also, if you don't like the way I spell pyjamas, then...idk, too bad for you! This is how we do it in Europe!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fem!Ori/Dwalin  
> Modern AU, in which Dwalin is there right when Ori needs him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this made me feel a bit sick...rape in movies and shows also makes me feel a bit sick...I feel sick, so don't read this ;o;
> 
> Note that I changed the rating. Also note that Ori would be like 20-ish in this, because I want to make people aware of this!

It was on the street where Ori grew up, no more than four houses from the one she shared with her brothers since she was little. There had never been any trouble before, even despite the pub in the street corner; the pub Nori always used to go to, drinking with his friends. The middle brother of the family was not to be blamed, even though he had forgotten his wallet and keys at home, resulting in Ori bringing them to the pub - it was only one minute walk, what could possibly go wrong? Everything, apparently, Ori thought, her heart racing but her body immovable. This was not her fault though, nobody could except sweet little Ori to be strong enough to fight off three men, all twice her own size, as they forced her down on the ground behind a bush. 

"Get her pants off, you fuckin'..." one of them growled, practically clawing at her legs, likely leaving red marks on the inside of her thighs as he tried to force Ori's legs apart.

She couldn't even scream, that was the worst part, as one of the men was hellbent on shoving his whole hand down her throat. The pub was only a few steps away, if only she could cry for help! The tears blurred her vision as one of the men roughly pulled her pants down, and not only one, but two pairs of hands began groping and touching - Ori hoped she would choke and die before they did any more, just to escape them. But she didn't. And she felt so utterly helpless as the first one pulled her underwear down, and came closer, his hips grinding against hers - he smelled like beer and sweat and Ori closed her eyes and knew she would never forget. 

Then he was gone, and she dared open one eye. Then both the others were gone, one running from the bush and the other slumping on the ground, blood sipping from the hole where his eye had been, and out the back of his head, where the bullet had exited. It took only seconds before the one who had tried to run laid dead at her savior's feet, his neck broken and his eyes empty.

"Lass, come here, I'll take yeh home," Dwalin said, tucking his gun into the back of his pants and kneeling to help pull Ori's pants up.

She could do little but sob against his chest as he held her close, and only took seconds before Nori came running with a pale face, eyes fixed on the three dead men beside his sister and his friend. "Dwalin, what-?"

"They had her pinned to the ground. I killed them." 

Nori's eyes darted back and forth, and he tensed up significantly. "Nobody saw it, right? I'll get the car, we can put 'em in the boot, go bury 'em in the woods or something." 

\--

Ori didn't sleep at all, after Dwalin carried her home, and Dori panicked and screamed and promised to kill the bastards who dared hurt his little sister, only to have Dwalin explain he already did. "Oh. Good," Dori squeaked then, helping Ori to her room and sitting on a chair by her bed until Nori came home, Dwalin following close behind, both of them sweaty and muddy and bloody.

"How is she?" Dwalin tried to be quiet, but his voice carried all the way to Ori's room upstairs.

"Horrible," she sobbed loudly, and she didn't know if she felt better or worse that she could be loud enough that someone could hear her.

Then, Dwalin had marched right past Dori, up the stairs and into Ori's room, kneeling by her bed as she hid under the covers and cried. "Lass, I won't let anyone hurt yeh ever again. I'll stay right here all night, all week, if that's what yeh want." 

A slender hand shot out from under the covers, and Dwalin caught it with his own.

"Y-yes, please."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bilbo/Bofur (Bofur/Nori)  
> Modern AU in which Bofur only exists for Nori when Nori needs him, but he always exists for Bilbo.

Nori was not a bad guy, not really. He was funny, he was social, he was loud, he liked food and alcohol; Nori fit Bofur perfectly, like they were both pieces of a puzzle. The only problem was that Nori insisted he was not interested, because - even though Bofur was a great guy - Nori was straight. Or so he kept saying. 

The first time he woke up in Bofur's bed - wearing a shirt, and a hoodie over that, but no underwear or pants - he blushed and stammered and even though Bofur offered to make him breakfast, he left as fast as he could. 

"Don't mention this to anyone, alright? I'm...not...gay," he'd managed with a look that altered between panicked and angry. "This didn't happen!"

The weekend after, Nori truly did pretend nothing had happened as he dragged Bofur along to a pub, claiming he was in need of his best wingman to pick up a lady or two - the fact that Bofur had no interest in said ladies made him an even better wingman as Nori felt that he never needed to be worried Bofur would steal the ladies from him. Despite the three(!) young women Bofur sent to Nori, the night ended at Bofur's apartment, with Nori biting Bofur's neck, whispering about how handsome he was, and Bofur tried to think about how embarrassed Nori had been last time to keep himself from doing anything they would regret. He lasted just past midnight before he let Nori push him down on the bed and lick every single inch of him.

"Oh God, not again," Nori groaned when he woke up, and just like last time he had put on his clothes as fast as possible before leaving.

"It won't happen again," Bofur whispered, not to Nori - who had already left - but rather to himself.

The next weekend was the first in months that Bofur spent indoors, at his own apartment. He tried his best to relax and watch his movie, but an hour past midnight, just at the start of his sunday, he woke up to the tune of his cellphone. 

"Youuu... youu hot thing, Bofur, I'm comin' over," Nori slurred into his own phone, and half an hour later Bofur was yet again pinned down on his bed, feeling more guilty than ever before.

He had, after all, promised it wouldn't happen again. Naturally, he regretted letting Nori in, when he was - for the third weekend in a row - abandoned by Nori before breakfast. Terribly ashamed, he decided to not stay in his own apartment, nor go out with Nori. Bilbo Baggins - the secretary at the firestation where Bofur worked - kindly offered Bofur a chance to avoid Nori the next weekend. Of course, when Bofur made it to Bilbo's cozy apartment, he realized he had misinterpreted the invitation; Bofur had believed it would be at least a few others there.

"Oh, dinner will be ready in a minute, I hope you'll like it," Bilbo had mumbled with a shy smile as he led Bofur into the kitchen.

Not having the heart to admit he thought there would be more people, Bofur gave him a kind smile. "I'm sure I will, lad."

And even though the dinner was partially overcooked (the meat) and partially undercooked (the pasta) and partially salad (which Bofur was not a big fan of), Bofur still gave Bilbo the kindest smile he could manage. "Best meal I've had in weeks."

"You really mean that?" Bilbo asked him with another shy smile.

"Aye, I do." But his fingers itched to check his cellphone, tucked away in his jacket as it was, as Bofur had tried to convince himself he would not cave in this time. 

The thought of Nori was what distracted him for a good deal of the evening, although Bilbo did not seem to notice, as he brought Bofur desert (and later a beer) in the livingroom. It just so happened that Bofur's phone began to ring as he excused himself to go to the bathroom, and even though he knew who it was - the very person he tried to ignore - he answered it.

"Bofurrr, Bofur yer not home, where are ye?" Nori slurred, likely even more drunk than the time before. 

"I'm...busy," Bofur mumbled, hoping he could avoid alarming Bilbo. "Go home or somethin'."

"Too late, waiting for ye in bed," Nori said with a drunken giggle. "I may or may not have...opened a window and climed in..."

"I live on the third floor, Nori."

A proper laugh this time. "I know, it was pretty hard to climb up here...come home soon, I'm waiting for youu," he sang before hanging up.

And Bofur did in fact go back into the living with the purpose of saying goodnight to Bilbo, but the smile Bilbo wore made it so terribly hard. So Bofur sat down, and he really thought that would make it easier, but the closer Bofur came to Bilbo, the happier Bilbo looked. Bofur really thought the next step would at the very least assist him in not letting Nori ravage him; he leaned in closer, to find Bilbo mirrored his actions until their lips were softly pressed together. Oh, what a kiss it was - the sweet taste of Bilbo's tea, the chocolate cake they had for desert. Compared to Nori's scent of alcohol and sweat (which was very manly, in fact, and quite attractive if Bofur had any say in it), Bilbo smelled and tasted like a bakery, so sweet. 

"I...was about to say I had to go...but I think I stay," Bofur mumbled, not pulling away more than half an inch.

"Please do, for as long as you'd like."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops kinda quick ending but headaches and speeches and lack of imagination are keeping me from continuing.
> 
> This fits into this series of ficlets ok! Bofur needed to be saved from Nori and his "not-at-all-gay" bootycalls.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Kin and lovers](https://archiveofourown.org/works/747169) by [orphan_account](https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account)




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